Private immigration bills are intended to deal with situations like that of Dr. Pedro and Salvacion Servano.
Wisely, the federal government created a means to deal with those people who fall through the cracks in the country's immigration system.
The bills are to be used as a last resort. Relatively few pass. Those that do involve cases with tremendous extenuating circumstances. Let us see how the Servanos compare.
One case involved the family of an immigrant who was killed in a hate crime in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Another beneficiary of a private immigration bill was a woman whose American husband was killed in government service before she could become a legal resident.
In other cases, families were granted legal status because their children required medical treatment that could not be obtained in their home country.
Many of the private bills aim to help teens who are unable to become legal residents without the intervention.
The Servanos case does not exactly follow those models. It does, however, bear many of the same hallmarks.
A Congressional Research Service report notes that "typically, the beneficiary had no other avenue for immigration or adjustment of status, has strong ties to other family members in the United States and no remaining familial ties to his/her native country."
The research service also notes the bills help people "who generally were unable to receive permanent resident status through no fault of their own."
That certainly sounds like the Servanos' case.
Dr. Servano and his wife moved to the U.S. 25 years ago. Their parents are here. Their children are here.
In the years since their arrival in the U.S., Dr. Servano has established himself as a physician serving thousands of local residents. He owns a landmark building in downtown Sunbury. His wife runs a bakery overlooking Cameron Park. They are Americans. They just lack the paperwork to prove it.
Remember, their error was that they wed. Their immigration documents indicated each was single. The mistake was not noticed until the couple tried to gain citizenship. They were just trying to get the documents to prove what we all know. They are Americans.
In the end, a phrase very near the beginning of the 32-page Congressional Research Service paper seems to most apply.
The private immigration bills are intended to help those whose cases are "uniquely meritorious."
The Servanos certainly meet that standard.
Our legislators should introduce a private immigration bill on behalf of the Servanos. They deserve it.
Opinion
Servanos deserve private immigration bill
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